Foodie News

On a recent trip to a local Morrisons’ restaurant, I was disappointed to see a change in the presentation of their sandwiches. Formerly served on a little red and white checked tray, with a salad garnish and mini pack of crisps, the sandwiches are now being presented on their own on a brown bit of card! However, on closer inspection, it was revealed that each pack of sandwiches came with a free pack of Morrisons’ crisps, although salt and vinegar was the only flavour available. I miss the cheerful tray and salad garnish, and quite liked the fact that the mini crisp packs allowed for a little treat without overindulgence. The sandwiches themselves are still good, however, with my favourite being the selection featuring egg and cress, cheese and tomato, ham, cheese and pickle and prawn – one of each for £2.49.

Admittedly, I do like a bit of chocolate cake!

After my recent comments about food products that are sporting the word ‘joy’ in their name or slogan, I would like to draw your attention to Cadbury’s Mini Rolls. One of the many slogans currently printed on the wrappers states, “Mini roll, big joy”. Is this meant to be a statement about what will happen to me if I eat too many? I do like a bit of chocolate, but still...

What’s happened to Tesco Strawberry Milkshake Powder? It used to have such a lovely, authentic strawberry taste, containing what appeared to be strawberry pips, but now it’s just bland! The ingredients have obviously changed, though the packaging and price remain the same. It’s very disappointing and I will definitely not be buying the product again.

I do enjoy the odd Lotus Biscoff caramel biscuit, but I don’t’ think that I can bring myself to try the spread of the same name. I mean, can I really imagine having the flavour of the biscuit spread on my toast?

What are your latest foodie loves and hates?

A Move To Morrisons

Since moving to a new, more rural location last year, my shopping habits have changed somewhat.

At my old home, I did my main grocery shopping at the local Tesco Extra, with smaller top-up shops at Sainsburys’ and the Co-op, but all that has changed since the move.

My current nearest Tesco is rather smaller than the Extra at which I once shopped, with far fewer product lines on the shelves, making it impossible to replicate all my most common buys. Although the store can meet a lot of my needs, it falls short on others.

Similarly, I have neither a Sainsburys’ or Co-op within easy reach, so have needed to look elsewhere. Attempts at buying groceries in Aldi failed dismally, I couldn’t get on with their products at all, and although I like Lidl better, the journey to the nearest branch is too far to justify any savings. And when it comes to grocery shopping, I’m not a fan of doing it online, as I like to scrutinise the meat, carefully select the fruit and veg and take the time to mull over relevant offers.

Therefore, my weekly shop now tends to be divided between the smaller Tesco, and Morrisons’, as there is a large branch of this store near to said Tesco.

On my first few visits to Morrisons I tentatively tried a selection of own brand products, as well as selecting some well-known labels that were on offer. I decided that many of the products were of good quality and therefore represented good value, an opinion further enhanced by the introduction of the Match and More card. This loyalty card price-matches your purchases not only with other leading supermarkets, but also with Aldi and Lidl, converting any extra money that you have paid on your comparable Morrisons’ shop to points, which then accumulate until you have sufficient to be awarded a £5 voucher. Despite targeting many own brand and offer items in my shop, I always seem to earn points, and have received several £5 vouchers, further reducing my shopping bill.

In addition to this, Morrisons have been sending me a variety of additional money-off vouchers through the post – they’re really making an effort to gain custom!

I’ve now also become a fan of certain of their own brand products. Here are a few of my favourites:

Morrisons Laundry Gel (Bio) 540ml (up to 18 washes) for just £1.75 – just as good as the Ariel version in my opinion and much cheaper!

Morrisons Pure Fabric Conditioner £1.50 (up to 42 washes) is a great bargain buy that leaves my laundry really fresh.

Morrisons Bolognese Sauce 725g for 99p, we actually preferred this to many other makes that we have tried.

Morrisons Chilled 100% Fruit Juices, 1-litre bottles, 3 for £3 (£1.29 each), not only are these really tasty, but there is such a great range of flavours. In addition to the normal apple, orange and pineapple, I love the apple and mango, Clementine, apple and pear and red grape and berries.

I’m also a big fan of their deli items, such as vegetable samosas and olive selections, and am pleased to see that their meat tends to be sourced from British farmers.

It would definitely seem that I’ll be doing much more of my weekly shopping in Morrisons in the future.

Return Of The Random Thoughts

It’s been some time since I last shared some of my random thoughts with you, so here goes...

I’ve been enjoying the indulgence of the variety of little desserts that come under the heading ‘Pot Of Joy’ (current favourite Terry’s Chocolate Orange), but feel that there may have been a mistake with the labelling. I think it should read ‘Pot For Joy’, then they could all be mine!

Whilst out shopping recently, I bought an item that for some reason proceeded to set off the alarms in nearly every store that I subsequently entered. Annoying? Yes. But what was actually quite worrying was that in none of the shops that I visited did anyone check what was causing the problem. I could have been walking out with half their stock for all they knew!

So much for Tesco’s new, permanently low prices. Some of the targeted items that I’d started buying in the store have risen by as much as 40p during recent weeks. Granted, some products are still cheaper than elsewhere, but is this the start of a slippery slope, reverting back to higher prices quite quickly?

Talking of Tesco, I’m thoroughly frustrated with their freezer arrangement in my local store. The items seem to be displayed using some sort of spring-loaded system, meaning that if you select an item that you subsequently want to put back, you can’t fit it in. Even selecting an item in the first place makes you feel like you’re under attack – it’s a worrying experience.

Believe it or not, I’ve only recently discovered wine boxes! I often enjoy a glass of wine with the evening meal, sometimes adding a splash to a dish that I’m cooking, and I like to have a bit in reserve should visitors descend. I previously made sure that I had a bottle or two in stock, but after being given a box of wine as a present I’ve been converted. With boxes containing the equivalent of between three and six bottles of wine and lasting some six weeks after opening (keeping fresh, not magically refilling) they can be a handy, cost-effective buy. I’ve not been tempted to drink more because of the discovery; it’s just nice to know there’s enough to offer round if unexpected guests arrive!

Merging Into One

I’ve recently heard about a couple of companies that are about to be ‘swallowed up’ by larger ones, which is bound to have an effect on consumer choice.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (formerly the Competition Commission, in turn formerly The Monopolies and Mergers Commission) is supposedly meant to strengthen competition in the marketplace, thus protecting consumer choice. Why is it then that in some areas our choices are becoming increasingly more limited?

One of the big issues at the moment, I feel, is that of mobile phone providers. I used to be a customer of Orange, which merged with TMobile (referred to in our household as Torange), which then became part of EE. It has now been announced that EE are to be bought out by BT – just the company I do not want to provide my service!

One of my concerns is that my current, excellently priced SIM deal will change. Originally taken out with Orange, but honoured by EE (although that stopped providing it to new customers) my immediate concern is that this will be scrapped. But from a wider point of view, I realise that if I’m not happy with the new service, there will be very little choice of other providers available. With it appearing that O2 is about to be taken over by the owner of the ‘3’ network, that leaves only Vodafone as a mobile provider on its own.

With our choices of mobile provider basically down to three, where is the incentive for the remaining companies to offer the best deals? With competition rapidly dwindling it certainly makes their life easier, but not ours!

Also in the news is the plan for Poundland to buy out 99p Stores – another bad move I believe. Certainly in my area, the 99p Stores are much better than the Poundland equivalents, stocking better products in a more welcoming environment. Of course, that may not be the case nationwide, but it’s still nice to be given the choice of where to shop.

Time and again shops and companies are being taken over by larger concerns, reducing competition and limiting our choices. Competition is healthy for businesses. It encourages them to deliver the best possible customer service, product ranges and consumer care. Insufficient competition can create complacency, resulting in poorer deals for customers and severe lack of service and care.

I’ve always believed that if I don’t get good service from a company, I should take my custom elsewhere. But if my choices are limited, where do I turn?

Annoying Packaging

You know the feeling. You get out that new pack of oh-so-tempting biscuits, finally locate the end of the ‘pull strip’, grab it and pull – and it promptly disintegrates in your hands, along with half the contents of the packet.

Or you buy your child a new toy for a present, which they simply can’t wait to get their hands on, but you realise you need a degree, not to mention a whole tool kit, in order to remove all the wires, tags and mini-screws that are there for product presentation, as opposed to any benefit to the consumer.

OK, so this may all seem like a bit of an exaggeration, but let’s face it, a huge amount of product packaging is both frustrating to open and wasteful.

During the recent festive season I was appalled at the over-the-top packaging containing my grandson’s toys. Not only was every one of them extremely tedious to open, but the packaging comprised of a number of plastic and metal fixings that could prove rather dangerous to small children! He’s 18 months old for goodness sake, he wants toys that he can get out and enjoy with minimal fuss and certainly without a choking hazard!

And as for the boxes of chocolates and biscuits! Whilst most were quite straightforward to open, I was incensed that some manufacturers printed the ‘selection menu’ on the bottom of the pack. We were then torn between reading the selection first and trying to remember what our chosen biscuit/chocolate looked like (makes a fun memory game) or holding the box aloft and performing a minor contortion to view the pictures without spilling the whole contents of the box. What’s wrong with printing the selection on the inside of the lid or on a piece of paper inside?

When designing product packaging, companies could bear in mind the phrase ‘user-friendly’ and stop and think about the ease of opening, the ability to reseal if appropriate, recyclability of materials and practical use.

It’s great that so many manufacturers have cut down on plastics used and, in some cases, reduced the size of packaging, but could they now please think more about ease of use as opposed to products looking pretty?

Next festive season I’d like to enjoy a biscuit without performing a weird limbo dance and present my grandson with his toys without leaving a trail of plastic ties in my wake!

Celebrity Endorsements

Advertisements can often be controversial, but I do despair at the amount of celebrity appearances and voiceovers in TV commercials, which must cost a fair whack, money probably better spent on the products themselves – or reducing their prices!

I’ve touched on this subject before, see good ads, but I’m becoming increasingly irritated by the cheesiness and pointlessness of these so-called celeb endorsements. Do I care what Cheryl is (supposedly) using on her hair, which yogurt Nicole Scherzinger (allegedly) prefers or that Victoria Wood appears to extol the virtues of a Dyson? Does it make me more likely to buy these products? Actually, no.

In fact the insincerity of some of the celebrity ads makes the products appear less credible to me. Their only use is to play a game of “Name That Celebrity” – can you recognise that famous voice in the background?

Random kittens in blog,
Much like random celebs in ads

I mean, do we really imagine that Peter André regularly pushes a trolley around his local branch of Iceland and that Mel Giedroyc really believes that “You’re better off at Asda”? The amount of different Asda ads featuring our Mel’s voice in the course of one week probably earns her enough to be far more extravagant with her weekly shop!

Personally, I’d prefer more ads featuring ‘real people’, which would be more cost-effective to make and more believable. It’s not really the TV advertising that encourages me to buy a product or visit a certain shop anyway, but introductory offers for products and loyalty incentives in the shops.

The odd advert can be quite entertaining, with some of the recent Christmas ones certainly worthy of a mention. I loved the Waitrose ad with its traumatic tale of the girl preparing the gingerbread stall and the John Lewis commercial with the lad and his penguins. But whilst the Sainsburys’ World War One ad was a poignant piece of film, I rather wish it hadn’t been an advert at all, just a short film to make us all think.

So does seeing or hearing a celebrity on a TV ad make you more likely to buy a product, or do you think there presence is just a total waste of money?

What Price An Opinion?

I was absolutely incensed to see, when I turned on the TV this morning for a spot of news, a couple being interviewed after being ‘charged’ for writing a review about a hotel in which they had stayed.

The review in question had been somewhat negative, but listening to the report, it would appear rightly so. The couple had experienced a number of problems with their room, which they had reported, but had not been solved. Disgruntled with their stay, they consequently wrote a review commenting on their experience, which I believe they were perfectly within their rights to do. OK, so they didn’t pay a premium rate for their room, but it should still have been fit for purpose.

However, the hotel still had their credit card details from when they had paid for their room, and apparently helped themselves to a payment of £100 in light of the comments the couple had made. They justified this by saying it was in the small print (very small print as it appears) that anyone writing a bad review would incur a charge. How ludicrous!

This case throws up a fair number of important issues.

We shouldn't pay for others shortcomings

Firstly, I believe that as consumers, we should all have the right to speak as we find. If we receive bad service or shoddy goods, we should firstly exercise our right to complain to those concerned (as the couple in this case did), but if our grievances aren’t resolved, we should be able to warn others of the shortcomings, to prevent others having to repeat our bad experience.

A second, connected point is that we should all be able to exercise freedom of speech, with the exception of the use of abusive or threatening comments.

Thirdly, it should not be, to my mind, legal for anyone to take further payments from a debit/credit card just because they were once given the details as part of a separate transaction. I believe this is just another breach of consumer rights.

Of course, this whole subject is close to my heart, as I regularly write reviews on goods and services – good and bad – and believe I offer a service in doing just that! If businesses want to avoid getting bad reviews, they should, quite simply, ensure that they maintain basic standards and that the goods and services that they supply meet all health and safety regulations, and are fit for purpose. Where mistakes are made or standards are lacking, they should endeavour to rectify the situation promptly and with good grace – this can turn a potentially bad review into a more positive one!

On the other side of the coin, it would appear that some people threaten to write damning reviews unless they are offered a discounted price. This is equally wrong. Just as we expect to be treated respectfully by companies, we should act responsibly as customers. Reviews need to be truthful in order to be helpful to others, sticking to the facts and be made in order to put across a fair point, as opposed to seeking personal gain.

Reviews of products and services can be beneficial to all – potential customers and businesses alike – so let’s protect our right to speak out when things are wrong, without the threat of being ‘fined’ for so doing, as this just rubs salt into already painful wounds!

What do you think?

I Love My Loyalty Cards

Like many shoppers, I was quite incensed to hear that Sainsburys’ are halving the amount of Nectar points that they award to customers as of April next year. They will only be awarding one point per pound spent, as opposed to the current two (two points are only worth 1p ).

It’s true to say that Nectar points always have been slightly inferior to those awarded by Tesco Clubcard, with the exchange rate of the latter being four times their face value when converted to Days Out vouchers, and each point being equal to 1p .

There are some shoppers (misguided in my opinion) that question the value of loyalty cards, but I believe that any reward you are given for shopping is better than no reward at all.

Less effective than a loyalty card

The argument goes, that if stores are operating reward schemes, they subsequently have to set their prices a little higher to offset these incentives. However, I would refute this, as many good value items I buy are purchased in shops that offer reward points.

Many of the products that I purchase in places such as Tesco and Superdrug, are not only cheaper or at least comparable to those offered at other shops, but earn me points. Over the years I have acquired so many points under the Clubcard scheme, that we have been able to pay for several family days out each year, including trips to expensive theme parks, which we would not otherwise have afforded. Even if I have occasionally paid a few pence more for the odd product or two, I have received this amount back umpteen times over. It’s true to say, that if I could have bought some items slightly cheaper elsewhere and put the pennies I’d saved into a savings account, I would not have accumulated anywhere near enough to pay for the equivalent number of fun outings.

I regard all loyalty cards (and I can boast a considerable collection) as mini saving schemes that allow me to enjoy life’s little extras. Unless prices are considerably higher in a shop that offers a good value scheme, I am unlikely to shop for identical products somewhere that does not offer me these extra benefits.

So my message to Sainsburys’, and any other stores planning to reduce or withdraw their points schemes, is that this may result in a customer-cutting exercise as opposed to your intended cost-cutting one!

Return To Lidl

Following my discovery of gorgeous cherry brandy and yummy chocolate at Lidl (loving Lidl post), I decided to return to the store, scouring the aisles for more products that might be worth a try.

It’s true to say that I did find some surprises! I was quite impressed with the fresh meat, Red Tractor assured British no less, and bought 500g steak mince for £2.59, diced chicken fillets for £2.69 and four fresh quarter pounder burgers for £2.99 – all lean products at reasonable prices. It’s definitely worth stocking up with some of these packs of meat and popping them in the freezer.

The whole family also enjoyed the frozen Harvest Basket potato wedges and oven chips at just 59p a bag, which make handy standbys to accompany many a meal.

Also highly recommended is Valley Spire Mature Cheddar. It’s a great price at just £1.75 for a pack and has a good flavour, great with crackers.

What will I find next?

The Quest For Ginger Preserve

It’s really annoying when you start using a product and really enjoy it, then suddenly it disappears from the supermarket shelves.

That’s exactly what’s happened to is Duerr’s Chunky Ginger Preserve, which I’ve previously blogged (see here ). I just loved its spicy tang, which helped to wake me up when spread on my morning toast. But since its disappearance I’m mourning its loss.

I had been buying it at Tesco, but as I could no longer find it in the store, or in any other local supermarket, I decided to email Duerr, who replied within hours, so a big thank you to their customer service department.

I was pleased to learn that they have not discontinued the product, although Tesco have withdrawn the brand from their shelves. Duerr urged me to write to Tesco to complain about this move, which I am in the process of doing, and would encourage other Ginger Preserve fans to do the same. Send your letters to:

Tesco Customer Service Centre

Baird Avenue

Dundee

DD1 9NF

In the meantime, Duerr tell me that I may still be able to pick up the preserve at larger branches of Asda (which sadly does not seem to apply to my local branch) and they apparently make Sainsburys’ Ginger Preserve for them, although I have not managed to find this as yet either.

However, in recent weeks I have managed to buy some Asda, Chosen By You, Ginger Preserve, which whilst not quite on the par with Duerr’s, will suffice until I manage to get more of my preferred variety. The Asda version is too jelly-like in consistency and therefore not so easily spreadable.

Have any of your favourite products disappeared from the shelves in recent times?

Great Value Crafting

I’ve long enjoyed working on various craft projects and am always looking for good value stockists of craft materials.

A small, fairly local, craft shop is a reasonable source for certain materials that I buy, but choice can be limited and prices sometimes rather high. At the other end of the scale, I’m not a fan of Hobbycraft with its impersonal warehouse set-up, which still doesn’t result in low prices.

So despite my erstwhile reluctance to buy products online, I recently found myself trawling the Internet in the hope of finding some reasonably priced blank coasters for cross stitch, in addition to other useful materials. My research was greatly rewarded.

I’ve discovered a great company called Willow Fabrics www.willowfabrics.com that supplies a range of fabrics, threads, wool and needlecraft accessories at very reasonable prices. For example, a pack of five round coasters costs just £7 (I paid over £2 each in the craft shop), and I bought a large piece (50cm X 60cm) of tapestry canvas for just £3.70. What’s more my order arrived in just under 48 hours and I was really pleased with the products.

I’ve also recently taken up a great deal in Cross Stitch magazines, with Cross Stitch Crazy and World of Cross Stitching running subscription offers whereby you receive five editions of either magazine for just £1 per issue (normal price £4.99). These are great magazines containing lots of lovely charts and they usually come with free mini kits too!

What recommendations do you have for great value crafting?

My Autumn Beauty Buys

As I get older, I prefer a more subtle approach to make-up, using products that give me a healthy glow as opposed to emphasising every little flaw. The latest additions to my make-up bag certainly reflect this trend.

 

I’ve recently discovered No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation SPF15 from Boots, which gives me a light, dewy coverage that evens my skin tone without looking unnatural. It’s a great little product and a little goes a long way.

Staying with No7 products, I’m now using their Stay Perfect Smoothing Eyeshadow in Bronze and Nude to add a subtle sheen of colour to my eyelids, rather than using a product that is too full on and heavy. The liquid formula glides on with the sponge applicator, and the tubes are handy and light to carry in your bag.

I do love the way No7 have developed this “Stay Perfect” range, if only the transformation to my face was that good! Anyway, I do like the products and are happy to recommend them.

 

I like to add a touch of colour to my cheeks, but don’t like heavy powder blushers or dark shades, so I was pleased to discover Limited Collection Cream Blush from Marks and Spencer. I’ve chosen dusky rose, which gives me a healthy glow, and I really like the way the product glides on, blends easily and doesn’t look overdone.

As the weather gets cooler, skin needs a little more TLC, especially I find, on my hands. My new favourite product is Hand Therapy Anti-ageing Hand Cream from Superdrug. With UV filters, Vitamin E and Co-enzyme Q10, it has a light non-greasy formula that is easily absorbed and just a hint of scent. My hands will thank me for it!

What beauty buys are you investing in this autumn?

Shopping Habits

Despite my recent move, which means that I’m now much further away from the nearest supermarket (see ruraljoy ) I’m not about to change from doing my weekly shop in person, to ordering online.

I’ve heard tales from friends and family, bemoaning incomplete orders and poor substitution of products, which certainly don’t inspire me to join the online shopping revolution.

OK I know that for every negative story that I hear, there are probably many positive experiences to be shared, but my aversion to online supermarket shopping goes much deeper than all that.

The problem is I’m a very fussy shopper (you may have realised that by now if you’re a regular reader of my blog) and take great pains to select the right items fit for my shopping trolley. I turn over many a bunch of bananas, bag of potatoes, pack of meat etc before making my final choice. The thought of someone else making these decisions for me brings me out in a cold sweat – I need to be in control of the shopping!

Well, maybe that sounds a bit extreme, but there’s no getting away from the fact that I like what I like – and I quite like to shop. So no matter how much longer it may now take to get to the shops or how far the distance involved, I will continue to trawl the supermarket aisles and fill my trolley with exactly what I want.

Are you a fussy shopper?

I’m Loving Lidl

I’ve previously made it quite clear in my blog how much I hate the whole Aldi shopping experience – well, more of an ordeal really. The stores are too cluttered, the choices too limited and some of their ‘exclusive’ brand products certainly don’t win prizes for taste in my opinion.

It was with some trepidation therefore, that I decided to give Lidl a whirl, having heard some slightly more favourable reports.

My first impression when I stepped into the Lidl store was how much brighter and clearer it seemed than any branch of Aldi that I had ever visited. The next thing that struck me was how much more choice of products there was, including well-known brands at very reasonable prices. I bought a Hovis Soft White Loaf for just 79p (£1 at Tesco) and Bertolli spread 500g was on offer for just £1.

Then I got a bit braver and tried a couple of the Lidl ‘exclusive’ brands, selecting some chocolate bars, rich tea biscuits and cherry brandy – all of which did not disappoint.

The rich tea biscuits weren’t bad, but the chocolate and the cherry brandy were absolutely delicious and such great value! I chose to buy Mister Choc chocolate bars, priced at 99p for 11, in the strawberry yogurt and latte varieties. Both were gorgeous, really tasty and just big enough for a little treat, with each ‘bar’ consisting of three little squares. The Serenade Cherry Brandy Liqueur cost just £5.99 for 50cl and was actually one of the best that I’ve ever tasted – warming, not too sweet with a good cherry flavour.

I’m definitely planning another trip to Lidl very soon.

Not So Simple

I’m always looking in the shops for interesting products to add to my make-up collection. I’d been growing tired of the same old moisturiser and foundation routine and decided to look at what BB creams have to offer.

After some deliberation I chose to buy Simple Perfecting BB Beauty Balm, which states that it is in a ‘universal shade’ and offers SPF15. It claims to ‘moisturise’, ‘even skin tone’ and contain ‘illuminating particles’. Well, I could certainly do with a bit of illuminating and like the fact that Simple products are suitable for sensitive skin, so it seemed like a good choice.

The cream felt nice on my skin and was easy to apply, but sadly I looked like I’d been ‘Tangoed’. So much for the universal shade, it’s obviously aimed at orange aliens.

Still, not to be beaten, and always loathe to waste money or purchases, (even though I did the Shoppers’ Joy classic thing of buying on offer) I found that if I combined a dab of the BB cream with a spot of Simple Illuminating Radiance Cream (I’m determined to be illuminated) the result was far more natural!

On the subject of dodgy beauty buys, I was also disappointed with my recent purchase of L’Oreal 3 in 1 Micellar Solution. This did not leave my skin feeling anywhere near as fresh and clean as with other micellar lotions that I have tried, the best to date being Avène Micellar Lotion, which left my skin feeling gloriously cleansed and refreshed.

Which make-up and beauty products do you recommend?

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Goody Bags

I love to get a goody bag! You know, the type you receive when you buy a couple of make-up products – a freebie promotion. It may literally be a bag, possibly more of a box, but either way I love to delve inside and discover the contents.

My love of goody bags dates back to my childhood, when I loved the treat of a ‘Jamboree Bag”. Unlike the ‘Lucky Bags’ of today (in-your-face shiny plastic), these were made of paper in plain colours (green, blue, pink) and cost just a few pennies. Inside there were usually a couple of toffees, some cashews, some form of moulded plastic curio (think false moustache) and maybe some transfers or a picture card. It wasn’t what was in them that really mattered – it was the thrill of what could be inside.

For my childhood birthday parties my older sister would make party bags that resembled small carrier bags, made from colourful wrapping paper. A few goodies were put in each. This was during the 60s before party bags became the norm, so I was quite proud to hand them out at the end of my party, as opposed to the usual piece of cake wrapped in a serviette.

Anyway, back to the present. Boots No7 is currently offering a free box of tricks (well, cosmetics obviously) when you buy two or more products from their make-up range. You can even combine this offer with the £3 off cosmetics voucher currently in circulation, making it an even better deal.

Of course, many make-up and skincare ranges, from budget to luxury brands, offer goody bag deals from time to time, so timing purchases to coincide with these deals is a useful plan.

But the ultimate in goody bags has to be those given to celebs when attending award ceremonies. Filled with luxury goods and surprises, they certainly give me ‘goody-bag-envy’! So if any of you lovely celebs have an odd goody bag knocking around that you really don’t want, I will gladly take it off your hands.

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Loyalty Vouchers

I’m a big fan of loyalty cards as regular readers will know, My purse houses a fine collection, all of which are put to good use. But as with everything in life, there is always room for improvement as I have discovered.

Recently, I’ve started buying the larger part of my food shopping in Sainsburys, following the discovery of several products and prices that I prefer to those at Tesco – my previous store of choice. When my Nectar card is swiped, I’m invariably presented with a selection of vouchers printed at the till point, my favourite being those giving me extra points on or money off my entire shop. However, there is a drawback with these, and that is the expiry date.

Suppose I shop on a Wednesday one week, the vouchers issued (with the exception of those for specific products) expire the following Wednesday. Now that’s fine if I want to shop the same day the following week, or even a day of two before, but not if that week I would like to do my shopping on, say, Thursday.

Surely the point of a loyalty card or vouchers is that they are to thank you for your loyal custom. Therefore, if I’m buying a trolley full of shopping each week in Sainsburys, I should be rewarded whatever day of the week I shop. The answer would be to ensure that the vouchers in question are issued with the end date of the following week, meaning they are valid for your shopping on any day in that week.

I’m not of my mother’s generation where I have set days for things. I like to vary my shopping day in line with whatever else I may need to do, but don’t expect to lose out on an offer just because one week I shop on a Tuesday and the next a Wednesday. So come on Sainsburys, review this dating policy!

Follow me on Twitter @shoppersjoy

Say No To Thai Chicken!

OK, so I’ve mentioned before how fed up I am that so many chicken products are made using poultry that isn’t British. (Read the most recent of these rants here) But I struggle to understand why so much chicken from sources such as Thailand and Brazil is still used in food manufacture.

Supermarkets rallied a little following last year’s horsemeat scandal. The amount of fresh meat sourced from the UK rose, be it somewhat slowly in some stores, and many beef products, such as lasagne and pies started to be made using British Beef.

However, many chicken dishes sold in supermarkets are still not produced using British chicken, or even chicken sourced within the EU. Sainsburys’ fresh kievs, goujons etc are all made from British chicken, which is clearly stated on the label. However their frozen ready meals use chicken from Thailand (even their roast dinners that include a whole chicken breast) and Tesco frozen ready meals also use chicken from Thailand and Brazil.

Of course, you wouldn’t notice this at a glance. The chances are that you have been buying these products without even realising the source of the chicken, as the finished meals are actually produced in the UK. To check what you are buying you have to read the small print on the back of the box, where the country of origin is stated.

But at least supermarket own brands are honest and state their sources, even if not in the most obvious place. Some of the big brand names that manufacture frozen meals and meat products do not state the country of origin at all. I have studied boxes produced by Sharwoods, Heinz Weightwatchers and the like, but can find no mention of where their chicken has been sourced. In order for us to make an informed choice as shoppers, we have a right to be provided with all this information, and I therefore believe that it should be law to clearly state the origin of a product’s main ingredients.

In the meantime if I read that the chicken in a product is from Thailand or Brazil, then I don’t buy it. If a product does not state its country of origin, then I still don’t buy it. I want to know that all meat and poultry that I buy in any way, shape or form is British, not only so that it conforms with food safety standards, but I don’t feel we should be importing such items from halfway across the world. Think of the global footprint!

What do you think?

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School Tuck Shops

Sadly school tuck shops have become very much a thing of the past. Healthy eating gurus now consider it inappropriate to sell the odd biscuit in school, with many schools either allowing a child to partake only of a small piece of fruit during morning break, or even nothing at all. Our brains benefit from a bit of a mid-morning boost, so denying children a small, healthy snack seems unreasonable.

But old-style school tuck shops weren’t just about the food, although I profess that I miss pop nuts (who remembers them, resembling Wotsits but with a nutty taste) and potato puffs. As snacks go these were actually lower calorie, lower fat than many of the crisps that we do buy today.

No, tuck shops were educational in a sense too, often run by pupils who had to learn about setting up displays and handling money. At my primary school, pupils in what is now known as year 6 (then 4^th year juniors) were in charge of the tuck shop, with a rota system of different individuals manning the shop (well two trolleys parked in the corridor) for a week at a time.

We sold two Jammie Dodgers for a penny, three Cheddar biscuits for a penny, chocolate teacakes and of course, those much-missed pop nuts and potato puffs. We did not pig out on these products or grow fat on them, because we bought them in small quantities and they tended to be our one treat of the day. If we were lucky enough to be given a precious penny or two for tuck, we had to choose carefully. I suppose with today’s expectations children may arrive with fistfuls of cash and buy much more, as so many seem to receive a startling amount of pocket money now.

With the over-the-top restraints and rules of today, it would probably be expected that those handing out the biscuits etc (unwrapped from open packets) hold a Certificate in Food Hygiene – at the age of 11? Then there would be the question as to whether you should really split up packets of biscuits and sell them separately, or whether this actually is against the law!

Why have we made our lives so regimented and difficult that even school tuck shops no longer thrive? They were fun, educational and certainly hold fond memories for me of my school days.

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Starting The Year Anew

Following my success using Avon Anew Smoothing Eyeliner, I decided to try a couple more make-up products from the Anew range.

Having reached a ‘certain age’ I am conscious of needing products that give my skin a bit of a boost, and bear this in mind when buying cosmetics and skincare items, so I’m loving the Avon Anew range.

 

The first new product I’ve tried is the Youth-Awakening Eyeshadow and Primer Kit, a handy little pot that has a cream primer on the bottom, an eyeshadow duo on the top and even comes with a handy little mirror in the lid. I love this product! It is convenient to use and compact to carry around. The eye colours are subtle and feel smooth on my lids. I’m currently using Shimmering Walnut, but you can also choose from Smoky Violet and Spring Green. The product normally costs £10, but is currently on offer for £6.50.

The other Anew product that I’ve recently tried is the Lip Restoring Colour Balm, which glides on easily, conditioning lips whilst giving them a touch of colour. With a choice of four shades currently (a couple of shades were available pre-Christmas that I can’t find now), this product sells for £9, but personally I wait for an offer to come up. In fact, you can currently choose a balm for free when you spend £15 or more on Anew Beauty products.

I’m now planning to try some more Anew products as so far so good!

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